Gareth Thomas: The following statement provides information on the EU Informal Competitiveness Council which took place in Prague on 5 May 2009, at which my official Claire Durkin director of Europe International Trade and Development, at BERR represented the UK.
	The meeting started with the Commission presenting a paper on lessons learned from the 2004 EU enlargement and the future of the EU internal market. The Commission suggested that the priorities for improving the EU single market and responding to the economic crisis were services (implementation of the services directive), intellectual property (agreement on Community patent and a single patent court) and completing the interconnection of the EU's network industries (telecommunications, postal services, energy and transport sectors).
	In discussion, member states agreed with these three priorities and that the single market was essential for EU economic recovery and growth. In addition, several member states highlighted the importance of avoiding protectionism and better implementation of single market legislation. All member states agreed that EU enlargement since 2004 had brought positive benefits to the EU. Member states suggested that future EU developments should be an increased focus on skills, innovation, the low-carbon economy, promoting EU standards externally, more cross-border internet sales, boosting consumer and social benefits, or delivering concrete achievements, such as a Community patent.
	The UK agreed with the forward looking suggestions by the Commission and other member states. We stressed the need for the EU to be at the high-end of the value chain, noting in particular business opportunities in low-carbon, digital and services. We also pointed out that the UK is the sixth largest manufacturing country in the world and that we wanted the single market to work equally well for the manufacturing sector. In addition, we welcomed the Larosiere report on EU financial supervision and called for an integrated approach to better regulation and enforcement of EU single market rules.
	The Commission also presented a paper on the EU better regulation programme and invited member states to share best practice from national programmes. Most member states were supportive of the EU action programme on administrative burden reductions. Several member states wanted the action programme to take account of new and amending regulations. Member states also wanted better impact assessments on Commission administrative burden reduction proposals. The UK representative stressed the need for co-operation and dialogue between member states on better regulation policies and for stronger EU impact assessments. We also suggested that the EU services directive should be an exemplar for EU legislation and that its implementation by the end of 2009 was important for EU's future competitiveness.
	The UK strongly supported the Commission's proposal to allow member states the option to exempt micro-entities (companies with ten or fewer employees and less than €1 million turnover) from the EU accounting directives, which would bring major cost savings for the EU's smallest businesses. Germany, Denmark and Romania also stated their support for the proposal.

Edward Balls: On 26 January, I announced to the House the first steps to deploy the Government's online directory—ContactPoint. I can today provide an update on progress in delivering ContactPoint, and outline the next steps.
	ContactPoint has been developed in response to a key recommendation of Lord Laming's inquiry into the tragic death of Victoria Climbié and is a vital tool designed to help keep children safe. In order to protect children it is crucial to ensure that the right agencies are involved at the right time and to improve the sharing of information between practitioners. ContactPoint will also help practitioners to improve outcomes for all children. It is a tool for practitioners to support better communication among practitioners working with children and young people across education, health, social care and youth offending services in the statutory and voluntary sectors. It will provide a quick way for those practitioners to find out who else is working with the same child or young person and ensure their best interests are promoted.
	Under current arrangements, if a practitioner believes that a child is at risk or may need additional support, for example if they have a disability, they may have no way of knowing whether other services have been, or are already in contact with that child. In addressing these issues, the Government estimate that ContactPoint, when fully operational, can save at least 5 million hours of professionals' time, currently spent trying to track down who else, if anyone, is helping the child. Supporting professionals in this way is an important element of the plan of action. I announced last week in response to Lord Laming's report on child protection. Lord Laming said in that report: "The new ContactPoint system will have particular advantages in reducing the possibility of children for whom there are concerns going unnoticed".
	Since January, important progress has been made. Seventeen early adopter local authorities in the north west of England, along with leading national charities, Barnardo's and KIDS, now have trained management teams in preparation for practitioners to start to use the system. At the same time, as part of the extensive ContactPoint security arrangements, local authorities have shielded the records of children who are potentially at greater risk if their whereabouts were to become known, to provide an additional layer of security, (for example, if a child is fleeing domestic violence or is under witness protection, or in some cases where children have been adopted). Approximately 52,000 records have now been shielded on ContactPoint.
	Building on this work, we will continue to take an incremental and steady approach to delivery. We are now moving ahead with the second phase of delivery. From 18 May, and over a period of several weeks, ContactPoint early adopters will train around 800 practitioners to use ContactPoint. They have been hand-picked to ensure they reflect the broad range of professionals working for children's services organisations who will use ContactPoint when the directory is fully rolled out. We will carefully monitor the activity of those practitioners considering what further improvements may be required in the light of their experience of using the system.
	From June to August, we will train management teams in the other local authorities and national partners. This will allow them to prepare for deployment of ContactPoint more widely in due course.
	Throughout this second phase, we will continue to evaluate the experience of early adopters. This will ensure that the deployment of ContactPoint continues to take account of the experience of new users in the next stages of delivery.
	ContactPoint continues to be supported by major children's organisations, such as NSPCC, Barnardo's, Action for Children and KIDS, teachers' unions including NASUWT, as well as the Association of Chief Police Officers, the British Association of Social Workers, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Children's Inter-Agency Group whose members include the LGA and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Iain Wright: I have today published a consultation paper that proposes the non-implementation and repeal of the Right to Enfranchise (RTE) provisions in the 2002 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act (the 2002 Act).
	The 2002 Act sought through the RTE provisions to prevent what was at that time acknowledged to be a fairly limited problem: Qualifying leaseholders being deliberately excluded when fellow leaseholders exercised statutory rights to purchase the freehold of the building containing their flats (called collective enfranchisement). However, it has become clear that implementation of the provisions would introduce a considerable amount of additional burdens, complexity and cost into the process.
	The Government's view is that this would be to the overall detriment of leaseholders in general who are benefiting from the changes that have been made by the 2002 Act and earlier legislation to remove unreasonable barriers to enfranchisement.
	Leaseholders will in due course also benefit from the introduction of regulations on accounting for leaseholders monies which will complete the programme of reform introduced under the 2002 Act.
	The consultation runs until 3 August 2009 and the Government would welcome responses to their proposals up until that date. Copies of the paper, "A consultation paper on the right to enfranchise (RTE) provisions", have been placed in the Library of the House.

James Purnell: I am today able to announce the annual performance targets for 2009-10 for the two executive agencies of the Department for Work and Pensions. The targets I have agreed are set out below.
	Further information on the plans of Jobcentre Plus and the Pension, Disability and Carers Service in 2009-10 is contained in their individual "Business Plans" which have been published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.
	
		
			 Jobcentre Plus (2009-10 Targets) 
			 Job Outcome Target (million points) To achieve a total points score of  9 million based on our priority customer groups. 
			 Interventions Delivery Target To make sure that specified Jobcentre Plus labour market interventions take place within set timescales in 85% of cases checked. 
			 Employer Engagement Target At least 92% of employers placing their vacancies with Jobcentre Plus will have a positive outcome. 
			 Customer Service Target To achieve an 86% customer service level in the delivery of the standards set out in the Customer and Employers Charters. 
			 Fraud and Error To play a key role to prevent and detect overpayments and underpayments of benefit consistent with the Department's aspiration to reduce total overpaid expenditure across all benefits to 1.8% and underpaid expenditure to 0.7% by March 2011. 
			  The target is supported by a suite of non-published measures of activities to pay our customers the right benefit at the right time. 
			 Average Actual Clearance Times Tartet(1) To process claims within specified Average Actual Clearance Times: 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance 11.5 days 
			 Income Support 10 days 
			 (1)A shadow target for Employment and Support Allowance is under development and will be monitored closely during 2009-10 to inform target-setting for 2010-11. 
		
	
	
		
			 Pension , Disability and Carers Service (2009-10 Targets) 
			 Benefit take-up To deliver at least 255,000 successful new Pension Credit applications. 
			 Accuracy Pension Credit financial accuracy of new claims and changes of circumstance: 93% first half year;  94% second half year. 
			  State Pension financial accuracy of new claims and changes of circumstance: 98%. 
			  Financial accuracy of Carers Allowance: 98%. 
			  Accuracy of decisions for Disability Living Allowance (DLA): 94%. 
			  Accuracy of decisions for Attendance Allowance (AA): 94%. 
			 New Claims Clearance Times Clear new applications for Pension Credit (measured from date all evidence is received) within an average of 15 days. 
			  Clear 95% of new claims for State Pension within 60 days. 
			  Clear new claims for Disability Living Allowance within an average of  38 days. 
			  Clear new claims for Attendance Allowance within an average of  16 days. 
			  Clear new claims for Carer's Allowance within an average of  13.5 days. 
			 Fraud and Error Reduce the proportion of benefit overpaid due to fraud and error in Pension Credit to 4.5% by March 2011. 
			 Telephony At least 93% of calls to be answered by an adviser. 
			  Less than 1% of calls receiving an engaged /busy tone.